a single mother and a pack of teenaged amazons navigate the concrete jungle

Thursday, November 18, 2010

two weeks and 1 day

day 8

day 10

day 12

day 16

first off, please ignore the increasingly large and bizarre hair. at least, i can now push it back successfully with a hairband from duane-reade - but the point is my face and BEAUCELL - the $2,000 face care set.

here's what mary says (or the camera that takes pictures beneath the skin's surface) - the sun damage has been visibly reduced on my forehead and cheeks and the circulation has improved around my lower face face (chin, lips). the collagen has increased from 53% in my forehead to 78%.

i went to a party last night and EVERYONE kept saying, "oh i can't believe you have teenagers, you look like a teenager yourself." (that said, it was a lovely party given by my mum's very close friend so the majority of the guests were old enough to be my mum or dad - however, one young woman who is launching her own bodycare line did say, "i can't believe you had kids and cancer and everything, and you look so great!"

i noticed a freshness to my skin but not a majorly obvious change. my nasal-labio folds are still there, though slightly lessened, and i still get tiny lines around my lips (though fewer).

that said, a single $1,000 treatment at mary schook's space gives me skin like a baby (i am not kidding, my brother said he felt like i was going back in time - and that was when i HAD cancer and losing weight like crazy but was as yet undiagnosed).

so i expected miracles.

according ms schook, who spends all her time looking at peope's faces, this is an unprecedented effect from a purely topical product for home use.

i don't know. for $2,000 - a 25% increase in collagen isn't sufficient. it now makes me think differently about skincare ads which talk about increasing collagen or firmness in small percentages. unless you are obsessive with a magnifying mirror, you won't really really notice. you might just be happy and rosy.

i missed the chance to take pictures for the past few days since my mum and dad were in town and the nieces and nephews were around and i spent enough time locked in the bathroom with the toner, ionizer, ampoule, gel, cream, etc that i couldn't add more time dragging around my computer and secretly taking pictures of myself (they think i'm out of my mind enough as it is).

plus, there were only two bathrooms shared amongst 3 adults, 3 teenaged girls and 2 smaller kids (part of the time) so i couldn't justify the extra hogging and i was too ashamed to do it in plain view.

i am halfway through the treatment. i've started using a heavier dose of the ampoule and massaging my skin more with the ridiculous little ionizer (which is just a stand in for a good facial massage to get the blood flowing, i think).